Book-holder



W. R. HANDLEY.

BOOK HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. 1921.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

LNVENTOR. WPflazzd/ay I ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM R. HANDLEY, OF WIGHITA, KANSAS.

BOOK-HOLDER.

Application filed February 10, 1921.

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that LlVrLLrAM HANDLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at "Y'Vichita, in the county of Sedgwick and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Holders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptlon of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to book holders and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a holder of simple and durable form adapted to support a book in open position thereby relieving the reader of the weight of the book, the parts of the book holder being so arranged that the leaves of the book may be readily turned and secured so that the book, while it is being read, is held in an open position.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a front elevation of the book holder.

The other figures are detailed views of the features of the invention.

The book holder comprises a U-shaped clamp memberl adapted to be applied to the edge of a table, a rail or other support, and plate 2 is slidably mounted upon the intermediate portion of the clamp member 1. A screw 3 is threaded through the lower portion of the clamp member 1 and at its upper end engages the lower side of the plate 2. The plate 2 is provided upon its upper surface with a strip of soft material, as for instance felt, and the upper side portion of the clamp member 1 is provided at its lower surface with a similar strip of soft material which is indicated at 5. hen the device is applied to the support the opposite end portions of the clamp member 1 are disposed at the opposite sides of the support and the screw 3 is turned whereby the felt 4, carried at the upper surface of the plate 2, is brought into engagement with the lower surface of the support and the strip of felt 5, carried at the upper portion of the clamp 1, engages the upper surface of the support. Consequently the clamp member 1 is securely held in position upon the support and the said strips 4 and 5 prevent the clamp member from marring the finish of the support. A vertically dis- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1921.

Serial No. 443,980.

posed tube 6 is mounted upon the upper side portion of the clamp member 1. A rod 7 is slidably received in the upper portion of the tube 6 and is held at an adjusted position therein by means of a set screw 8 which passes transversely through the side of the tube 6 and at its inner end engages against the side of the rod 7. The rod 7 is provided with angularly disposed end portions so that when one end portion is inserted in the tube 6 and is vertically disposed the other end portion of the said rod 7 is hori- Zontally disposed.

The book holder proper comprises frames 9 which are hingedly connected at their inner edges with cross links 10. The links 10 may be concaved transversely to fit around the back of the book when the sides of the cover of the book are in engagement with the inner surfaces of the frames 9. One of the links 10 is provided with a transversely disposed sleeve 11 which receives the upper end of the rod 7 and the said rod 7 is secured at an adjusted position in the sleeve 11 by means of a set screw 12 which passes transversely through the sides of the sleeve and at its inner end engages the side of the rod 7. The frames 9 are provided at points between their upper and lower edges with transversely disposed U-shaped guides 13 and the shanks of hooks 14 are slidably received in the guides 13. The hooks 14 are held at adjusted positions in the guides 13 by means of set screws 15 which pass transversely through the sides of the guides 13 and at their inner ends engage against the sides of the shanks of the hooks 14. One of the hooks 14 is provided at its outer end with a bill end 16 which is pivotally connected with the body of the hook and which is actuated by a spring 17 to normally hold the free end of the bill 16 toward the intermediate portion of the shank of the hook 14.

In operation the clamp member is applied to a support as hereinbefore described and the rod 7 is adjusted along the tube 6 and secured, whereby the upper end portion of the rod 7 is at a desired elevation or height. The book is opened and placed upon the frames 9 with the back of the book in the links 11 and the lower-edges of the sides of the book upon hooks 18 provided at the lower edges of the frames 9. The edge portions of the leaves of the book are caught under the outer ends of the hooks 14 and consequently the book is Supported upon the frames 9 in an open position. As it is desired to turn the leaves of the book the topmost leaf is slipped from under the hook 14: which is continuous from end to end and turned and the bill end 16 of the hook having the pivoted section is swung up and the leaf is laced under the end of the hook and the bill end is released, and under the influence of the spring 17 springs back and engages the upper surface of the leaf which has just been turned from one frame to the other.

From the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing it will be seen that a book holder of simple and durable structure is provided and that the same may be conveniently used for sustaining a heavy book while the reader is using the same, and that means are provided whereby the leaves of the book may be readily turned and when turned secured at open position.

aving described the invention what is claimed is:

A book holder comprising a clamp member, a tube carried by the clamp member, a rod having angularly disposed end portions one of which is adjustably secured in the tube, frames pivotally connected together at their inner ends by means of links, one of the links having a sleeve which receives one end of the rod, guides disposed transversely across the frames at points between their upper and lower edges, hooks mounted at the lower portions of the frames, and hooks adjustably mounted in the guides, one of the said hooks having a spring pressed bill end pivoted portion.

In testimony whereof Iafiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

l VILLIAM R. HANDLEY.

lVitnesses:

n. E. ow, FREEMAN L. MARTIN. 

